It is such a relief to know what this weird condition is, and to know that it can possibly be treated with a diet. Since I was nine years old I thought I was very dirty and needed to be exfoliated. I used to scrub my little armpits until they were raw, and then just resigned myself to a future of brown neck and underarms.

I am starting Atkins today (March 21) and I pray that this diet will not only make me healthier but will make me prettier as well. I have not been diagnosed with PCOS but after doing some research I am confident that I have AN and I am determined to get my insulin under control and do what I can to improve it. I refuse my live my life in long sleeves!

Same here. I always was picked on in school, and I hid myself under lots of clothes, even in high school. Ive been trying to lose weight for a year now, so far i've lost 33lbs, and the black ring around my neck is getting less obvious. I still have black under my pits and between my legs and close to my genitals. Which makes me very sad, because It's difficult when it comes to being intimate with someone, and the high expectations of beauty the world has come to create for us. i pray for everyone that we all find the strength we need to keep going with our healthier lifestyles.

Yes, people of any age can be cruel. I'm sorry you were teased, and I know how you just can't forget the things that were said to you in school.

I had no idea that AN was a sign of insulin resistance until I did an internet search for "dark armpits+treatment", looking for some sort of skin care products or something that might help (I had done an internet search for "dark armpits+treatment", thinking that I might find some lightening skin care products. That day I found out about AN and a light went on. I wish my younger self knew about this. I could have put away the doughnuts and the spaghetti and looked decent in a bathing suit! I remember when I was about ten I was wearing a tank top and a girl said to me "Eww, your armpits are dirty!" I had never noticed it before but I have never been sleeveless around anyone since then. I recently read that doctors in some areas are screening school children for AN so that changes can be made before they develop diabetes.

Many times I scrubbed and scrubbed until I was raw trying to get rid of the dark areas. I finally gave up, thinking that my skin was just naturally uneven. I figured that someday I could afford some of that ultra-whitening stuff that dermatologists can prescribe. Thank God that I can just change my eating habits instead! I know that looking good isn't as important as being healthy, but it's so nice that by choosing the latter we can have the former as well.

Good luck with your low carbing, Ruby! I'm glad it's working for you so far.

I found this site because I am in a wedding. I have been searching for different ways to lighten the skin around my neck and armpits, God bless my friend, but, against my extreme protest, she choose a dress that is not only strapless, but cut relatively low on the back. I don't know what to do! I'm a big girl, she knows this, but she didn't seem to understand it. So...
My mom and I, each week, take out alcohol, cotton balls and scrubbed until blood, and nothing works. I can't afford to go the doctor, I don't have insurance, and I'm paying back college loans. I don't know what to do! (I also have awful skin tags, but I guess I'll worry about them later.)
This is the fourth wedding I've been in since I graduated college (Dec. 2003) which is part of the reason I'm broke too! LOL. I've come to terms w/myself, I'm going to be overweight bridesmaid, but I don't want to have these dark patches. The dark spots make me more selfconscious than my obesity! Does anyone have any ideas!?!?! The wedding is at the end of JUNE!

ooh, ps. I looked up PCOS, and it says that your period lessens or is irregular, but my period just doesn't go away. I've had it for months, could that be a side affect as well?

i know this sounds bad but if u can scrape up the money, the tri luma cream is about 90 dollars at places like costco and sams. i found a way to get the money for the cream and although it isnt a cure, it does defionetly help. it helped me to feel better about myself, self esteem boosted a lot. im sure ur already dieting but try getting rid of sugars and carbs as much as possible, although u need carbs for energy (that i dont deny) by not having so much insulin produced then there isnt so much to store which is what causes those ugly dark rings and spots that we get on our body.... i wish u the best of luck. im 21 yrs old and have had it since i was about 9, although not morbidly overweight (as they say), ive still got the weight and the family background with insulin uptake problems and such. good luck and keep us informed!

i doubt much will help before june, but maybe get a gauzy scarf to wear with the outfit to make you feel less self-conscious? wear your hair down, or is that not an option?

i know exactly how you feel. i will tell you that even though i lost 50 pounds and got down to about 185 on CAD (still eating a far amount of carbs) it was only once I went on Atkins and really cut the carbs down majorly that the skin discolouration began to go away. It's almost entirely gone on my neck; I asked my sister if I could wear my hair up - showed her the back of my neck, cringed, waiting for the comment - she didn't even understand what I was talking about! That's how much it has gone from my neck. But it only happened after serious reduction in carbs. I'm not sure whether it was losing more weight, or even less carbs that did it, but I have a suspicion it was going on atkins that did it. My skin is still a little discoloured around my armpits and tops of my thighs, but much less than it was - and at least those areas aren't on show most of the time!

I'd also had the dark skin since about 12 years old and had tried every skin thing I could find, but nothing worked. I found it nothing short of miraculous when it started fading due to what I was *eating*.

its so amazing to have found a place where I am not alone....I have had the "dirty ring around my neck" for as long as I can remeber, and as many others I was punished as a child for " not washing" (actually just spoke to my mother and she apologized after reading this forum). Summer is comming up and its the season I hate the most !! only becouse I always cover up my neck from embaressment. I tried the low carb thing at the beginningof the year (before I read this forum) was frustrating because I love to eat carbs so I quit. But now finding out that this could help my skin and the skin tags I am gonna try once again. all the encouragement is appreciated for we all know how tough it is!!!!

Hello gals!
You ladies are wonderful! I am so impressed by the rapid response you gave me! Sorry I haven't been able to update you on what has been going on, I'm in the middle of planning a speak out against sexaul assault, for anyone who doesn't know, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month! So I've been crazy busy! (Not to mention on emotional overload!)
So what you all are basically saying is in order to lose the rust (I love that term!) I have to lose the carbs! UGH!!! What a dreadful, delightful thought. It is almost as if I am trading my comfort for my vanity...initially that is how I thought it, however I realize, its for my health right? Because w/IR comes diabetes and with that can come a whole mess of thigns if not treated!
Ugh, I hate thinking of it and I'm really not sure how to start, I've tried no carb before and it didn't work out well...and I'm scared of failing, its like, Its so much easier not to even try than to try and fail...did anyone else feel this way? If so, how did you get over it?
AHHh....can't wait to hear more advice! thanks again for the great support!

Its so much easier not to even try than to try and fail...did anyone else feel this way? If so, how did you get over it?

oh of course i relate to this, and felt the same way. i was very very scared to start low carbing for many reasons; afraid to hope that this time would be different, and afraid to start and succeed temporarily, and then end up even heavier than i was in a year or so because i would rebound and put more weight on afterwards. last time i'd dieted i'd gone down from 210ish to 176 and then rebounded up to an all time high of 250.

the reasons i started dieting anyway were twofold. one, i was reading more about IR and PCOS etc, so the health benefits of low-carbing, the *necessity* of it, the idea that it was specifically good for *my* issues with weight made me hope it would work. the other, simply, was that i was so unhappy about my weight that life was becoming not worth living. i *had* to try again, even if it didn't end up working.

thank the heavens, it did. it's 3 and a half years since i made that decision to try again, and it's taken me a long time - i am not a fast loser by any means - but i am where i am today and that is something i never ever truly believed possible. even if i managed to lose *some* weight, i never believed i'd get down to this weight - a weight i'd never seen in my entire adult life.

Hello - this is my first post. This one might be old news, but I just wanted to say that my daughter has this on her neck and now in the fold of her arm. She got it a while back and after losing 20 pounds it has come back bigger and badder than ever. So, for her, it *did* go away... I hope it can (and will) again when she takes control of things again.

Im new, i've known about my AN for awhile now but i only discovered this forum yesterday, my goodness i didnt know so many people were effected by it. In a terrible way i have found some comfort and reasurrance through everyone here, i must have read everyones comment and was touched by all the stories. I was never bothered by people because i made such a good job of covering it, i have a light creamy skin tone and a very obviouse ring around neck the only thing is, i have seen some people with AN and many pictures on the internet but never have i seen any as severe as mine. My underarms are slightly dark and a small patch on my cheast, and thats it, i just dont understand why mine is sooo dark, its literally black and very large, it goes all the way round but mostly spread out on both sides of the neck. Some people have mentioned tri-luma, i will be trying this if i can get a hold of it.

I'm so glad I stumbled onto this site and this thread! I have dark patches between my thighs and my armpits too, they have gotten a little better since I have been exercising, I'm a little disheartened to find out that they won't disappear altogether but I'm glad I know what is causing the pigmentation of the skin. I really get so self concious of the dark skin especially between my thighs, I love summer and swimming but I hate that i can't wear a bikini or even a normal one piece bathing suit because I hate showing the skin in the thigh area,plus the stretchmarks too at my largest I was 162lbs and I am only 5'1!
well I'm glad that weight loss can help clear some of it up, I have rather tan skin so it shows up pretty prominent. .I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one this problem, whenever I'm at the beach or just flipping through swimsuit catalogues or lingerie catalogues I just feel so annoyed that I can't wear what I want and feel stupid for being so paranoid about the AN.